Wednesday, June 4, 2014

eating well.....again

Hello! Long time! Remember in my last post how we were waiting on summer??? Well it's HERE! The kids are finally out of school and we've been playing and planting and soaking up the sun.

A few weeks ago I gave you my book report on It Starts with Food
. (check out my thoughts HERE)
I wanted to do a quick follow up on how the last few weeks have gone around here.....

I ended up following the Whole 30 program 100% for 13 days.....way longer than I had planned on, but I honestly loved coming up with new meal ideas each day. We were eating more vegetables than ever before, and because of that, I loved it.

BUT.

It was so much meat. We normally only eat meat (whether that be chicken, beef, or fish) a couple times a week TOTAL--we eat a lot of meatless meals. Without beans and whole grains, we were eating more meat than I was used to and it was just too much for me.

And....I was struggling on my runs. I am a giant bowl of oatmeal/fruit/nuts/seeds kinda girl before I run. And every single step of every mile on every run I felt so heavy, tired, and not at all myself. I was starting to dread my time on the trail and I knew something had to change. I had my giant bowl of oats one morning before I took off and I was a new person--back to myself flying through the trees.

See ya later Whole 30.
I had read so many stories of athletes who found great success while on Whole 30, but for ME and MY body, it just wasn't working.

And THIS is what you have to do.....take what works for YOU, and get rid of what doesn't.

from the trail

Last year I wrote THIS post on "eating well", and I really think that's the best plan for my family....you know....just eating food. Real food. Whole food. A treat here and there. And not stressing over it.

I still loved the book--it taught me so much ,and I feel like in just the 13 days I was able to reset my "hunger clock"--I now wake up hungry in the morning (which is how it's supposed to be!) I know the importance of getting good bacteria into my gut, but this book was a great reminder, and also good at explaining WHY it is so important. I'm back on a probiotic routine, I added in some enzymes, and treat myself to a Kombucha every now and then.

We are still eating veggies non stop, I've come up with so many new meal ideas that are vegetable centered.

And we will still eat treats....(hooray!) My Lu turned 7 last week (gasp!) and we celebrated with banana splits....and she made the whipped cream.

Here is a veggie loaded salad that we had last night and I can't wait until I get to eat the leftovers this afternoon. I got the idea from Smitten Kitchen , and tweaked it with what I had. In her salad, the meat and cheese (she used provolone) are a major part of the dish, I made them more of a garnish. I added cabbage and beets (which turned the entire salad pink!) and used romaine instead of iceberg.

Italian Chopped Salad

sorry guys, you know I'm the worst with measurements......I just add things by the handfuls--so add more or less to your liking. But I followed Smitten Kitchen's recipe for the dressing exactly (except I added some italian seasoning), so here is that:

Oregano Dressing

(I added all ingredients to a jar and shook to combine)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

To put together salad, I combined all the ingredients EXCEPT the romaine, added the dressing and tossed until everything was coated. This way I could keep the leftovers without the lettuce getting soggy. I added chopped romaine to our plates and then added the [very pink] veggies and dressing to the top.

11 comments:

Kelly Jo
said...

I love your thoughts on eating well. I couldn't agree more that it's all about what works best for your body. The last few weeks I have made lots of healthy & positive changes in what I'm eating on a daily basis and I can already tell a huge difference in the way I feel. I'm not seeking perfection, I enjoy food and will always enjoy food. I am camping this weekend and cannot wait to eat some s'mores. Cheers to eating well and living well too! And as soon as I get back from camping this salad is getting made, yum yum yum.

I love beets but I don't love the process of cooking them just for me (I'm the only fan in the fam.) I grate a couple and keep them in the fridge throughout the week to throw on a salad. I especially like them with vinegriette. Like this... http://mountaingourmetclub.blogspot.com/2012/09/mg2070.html?m=0

I've wanted to try kombucha for so long but haven't yet, partly because I can't find any and I'm wondering about the WoW. Do you drink some made with another type of tea or the regular ol black tea kind? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Too funny - I just put this salad on our meal plan for next week. Thank you for this refreshing post - I look at "whole 30" plans, and think my body would rebel after about two days of all that meat. I enjoy the heck out of the little bit of really good, local meat we can afford - and then enjoy the heck out of the rest of our meals, which are heavily veggie-laden with maybe a bit of meat "condiment". :)

I have been a bit out of sync with the internet lately, but I always love coming back to your lovely blog and lovely you. I have seen mention of whole 30 here and there, but I'm glad you mentioned how much meat it is, we're not big meat eaters either. The day after too much meat hangover is very real and very ugly.

Hi,I´m a big fan of you and your blog, I´m from South America, I love your blog and your recipes.I really think that the most important thing is to balance what you eat, variety, those new diets that eliminate many things aren´t good, we have to eat what makes us to feel well, as you said, whole food,real food, I need carbs and cereals, I can´t work without them. Thank you for this wonderful post and for your blog, it is very inspiring in all ways not only about food.Many greetings from Bolivia. Best wishes.Jimena

Thanks for this post.Hope so that this will help me in making my life more healthy. People who are really concerned about their health must have the habit of having juices in their regular diet. They will provide yo the basic nutrients necessary for keeping your body and mind fresh and active. women may take the women's choice noni juice as the noni fruit juice has the ability to energize your whole body.

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